Twelfth candidate enters race for Winnipeg mayor

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This article was published 13/07/2022 (1151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new mayoral candidate said she would use the post to help women who flee domestic violence.

Jessica Peebles became the 12th candidate to register a mayoral bid on Wednesday.

“I decided to run for mayor because I have experienced a lot of issues as a woman leaving a domestic violence relationship in the past,” Peebles told the Free Press.

The political hopeful said she has personally experienced psychological abuse and believes better support systems, including enhancing the police response to women in such situations, should be pursued.

Peebles, 35, said she recently worked as a health-care aide through her company Cherish Health Services but left that role during the pandemic to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. After working in food delivery, she expects she will soon return to health care.

In addition to improving supports for women, she hopes to make Winnipeg safer by ensuring city programs help address trauma that can lead to crime.

“Crime is a symptom of the issue and the real issue is trauma so that’s what I wanted to help shine a light on,” she said.

Peebles joins a long list of competitors in the wide-open race to become Winnipeg’s next mayor. Mayor Brian Bowman announced he would not seek re-election in 2022.

The other registered candidates include Jenny Motkaluk, Chris Clacio, Don Woodstock, Rick Shone, Scott Gillingham, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Shaun Loney, Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Desmond Thomas and Glen Murray.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga